Who said what after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso - 2nd "I am pleased with this result: finally my podium trophy collection is complete! I have seventy three top three finishes and I have managed to stand on the podium of all the circuits that have been on the Formula 1 calendar over the past ten years. Next year, we go to Austin and the year after to Russia, so there will always be new challenges to tackle and objectives to reach even if, obviously, the main one is always to win the title. It's clear what will be the objective for me and all the team next year: winning the title. Today we were fighting for the win all the way to the end. We got a good start and could match Hamilton's pace. The first pit stop went well, while I lost a couple of seconds at the second one, what with traffic on my in-lap and a problem changing the front left wheel, but I don't think that's where we lost the race, because I am convinced that, in the end, it's the quickest car that wins and so it was. The opening lap was exciting: at the start I squeezed round the outside of Webber at the first corner because I knew there was more grip there then, once I saw Vettel was off, I got into Button's slipstream, taking a bit of a risk but, in the end, I managed to pass him too. After that I expected to struggle more, but today was one of those where the car went much better than expected and you are kept busier fighting with those ahead of you than in looking in your mirrors. I hoped right to the end I could do it, because maybe Hamilton might also have had some problems with KERS like Button did. Even if we have not fought for the title it has still been a good season: we have improved a lot as a team and learned a lot."

Felipe Massa - 5th "I cannot be happy with this fifth place. Things were going reasonably well while I was on the Softs, but with the Mediums I was really struggling to keep the car on track because of the lack of grip. That's why I ended up spinning on lap 49, losing any remaining hope of staying ahead of Webber. In the first stint I could fight with Button and the Australian, but I always had the thought in my mind that, in the final stint, I'd be in trouble. The fact I could not use the new front wing was more of a penalty when running the Medium tyres than the Softs, because with the harder compound you could feel the lack of downforce more. Now we go to Brazil where I will have the support of my home crowd: I am sure that will help me try and finish well this season that has definitely not been a positive one for me. Even if it's obvious, I want to state clearly that, despite everything, I am absolutely motivated for next year. Along with the team, I will work to have a more competitive car and then you will see everything will be different."

Stefano Domenicali, team principal "We knew a podium was possible and that was confirmed this evening when, thanks to yet another extraordinary drive from Fernando, we were in the fight for the win right up until the final part of the race. The Spaniard's first lap was exceptional, as was his race pace after that. Felipe also got off to a very good start, in contention for a podium place, but then, on the Medium tyres, he struggled and was unable to run at a pace good enough to stay ahead of Webber. Finally getting a driver onto the podium in this race is indeed cause for satisfaction. Now there's one race to go, in two weeks time in Brazil. Second place in the Drivers' championship is still up for grabs. That will be hard to achieve but it is definitely not impossible and we will do all we can to give Fernando the tools to achieve this. Interlagos is also an important weekend for Felipe, whom I am sure will want to give his always enthusiastic fans something to cheer about."

Pat Fry, technical director "A nice result thanks to Fernando driving an attacking race from start to finish, after producing a fantastic first lap. The pace on the Soft tyres was what it should have been, so we were always close to Hamilton. In the second stint of the race, Fernando got a bit caught up in backmarker traffic and lost at least a couple of precious seconds, but then, even if we had made a perfect pit stop (we lost around a second and a half at the second one) we would not have managed to get him out on track ahead of the McLaren man. Right from Friday, we realised our pace on the Mediums was not as good as that of our closest competitors, so after that we could not attack. From a strategic point of view, we tried to exploit our better tyre degradation but, unlike what happened in India in our duel with Webber, here, the move did not work out. Felipe drove a good first part of the race, but then he struggled more than his team-mate with our difficulty on the harder compound. In any case it would have been hard to stay ahead of Webber, but his spin robbed him of any remaining opportunity. Now we have three days of very important testing, the only ones we have between now and February: it presents a great opportunity to try out new ideas, to resolve some problems we still have and above all, to give a talented youngster like Jules Bianchi some more experience."

Force India

Adrian Sutil - 8th "Today's result is great for the team and just what we needed. Initially we were planning to do a one-stop race, but the team took the decision to switch to a two-stop strategy because the soft tyre did not last as long as we thought it would. So it was a good call by the team to make the change. I spent a lot of the race fighting with Schumacher and managed to get ahead of him for the middle stint. But I probably went one lap too long in the middle stint and he got ahead of me when we were both on the medium tyre at the end of the race. I was close behind him, but we had similar pace and I couldn't get back ahead. Still, we came here to pick up points with both cars, and that's what we've done. It puts us in a very strong position for the final race."

Paul Di Resta - 9th "I think as a team we can be pleased to have come away with a double points finish having run different strategies with both cars. With hindsight my one-stop race was not the optimum strategy, but we felt it was worth a try. As it turned out the performance of the medium was not great to begin with so the first 30 laps were quite hard work. I had a good fight with Buemi in the early laps and I think we were quite lucky that he retired, which made my race a bit easier. When I switched to the softs the speed of the car was very strong. To do a one-stop race and come away with two points is as much as we could really hope for. It's what we need for our fight in the championship and hopefully we can arrive in Brazil and carry on where we left off."

Vijay Mallya, team principal "We came here determined to deliver a strong result and we've come away with six important points to consolidate our sixth place in the constructors' championship. Both drivers drove faultless races, splitting the strategies and covering all the options. So I'm very pleased with our performance as a team, which puts us in a much stronger position with 15 points advantage over our nearest competitor. I feel confident that we can go to Brazil to finish the job and confirm our sixth place in the championship."

HRT

Vitantonio Liuzzi - 20th "The car was suffering from the same balance problems as yesterday. The team worked on the issue all night to try and fix it but, unfortunately, the car wasn't perfectly balanced today. There was understeer on left turns and oversteer on right turns which meant that it was hard to achieve a good race pace. We got off to a good start and made up a few positions but it was a difficult challenge. Still, I pushed until the very end and got the car past the checkered flag which is a positive thing. It was a difficult race but we got a decent result".

Daniel Ricciardo - DNF "I had a pretty good take off at the start, passing Glock and getting right behind Trulli, and then I stayed on the inside for turn 1, which was probably a mistake as Glock overtook me on the outside. There were a few moves that I should have maybe committed to a bit stronger. The pace was good but I lost a few places at the start and had to play catch up. I closed the gap with Tonio but then I couldn't get past him. For the second stint I was able to keep up with Glock. I was then caught in traffic and, three laps from the end, my car stopped. It was a shame to end the race prematurely but, overall, the pace was good and I was setting some good times so that's something to take into the next race".

Colin Kolles, team principal "Clearly, this is not the result we were hoping for at all after the performance level we've had over the past races but the drivers did everything they could. We had a good pace. Tonio went for a one stop strategy, which proved not to be the best one in the end. Daniel, instead, was going for two stops and carried a really consistent pace racing Glock throughout the race. Unfortunately, he couldn't finish the race three laps from the end because of an electrical problem. It is a real shame because he was doing a fantastic race. Now we have to look ahead to Brazil and expect not to have any of these problems again".

Lotus

Heikki Kovalainen - 17th "Another pretty good start and from there the whole race was straightforward. I didn't have any issues for the whole race, the pitstops were good and the strategy worked out exactly was we'd planned, so across the whole weekend this has been another strong event for us. What seems to be happening is that in the first couple of stints, as the race sort of settles down, we are able to keep up with the cars ahead, and that's obviously a sign of how we have progressed, and that's again what happened here. When we went onto the primes for the last stint the pace obviously dropped a bit but we had another strong push to the end, with Senna losing time on his final set of tyres, and that points to us being able to fight much more closely next year. For now we have one race left, so we'll shift the focus now to Brazil and make sure we finish the season as strongly as we have been doing since Singapore."

Jarno Trulli - 18th "I lost a few places at the start with clutch slip, but within a few laps I had got passed the cars we needed to fight and then focused on making sure I got the car to the end of the race. The second stint was pretty strong, but then on the last stint on the hard tyres I was struggling to get them up to temperature so I couldn't really push any more. This has been a bit of a tough weekend. I came here with a bit of a fever and then losing time in FP3 obviously set me back as well, but now I want to make sure I have as good a race as possible in Brazil and help the team secure tenth place."

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer "A solid race for us and good to see both cars across the finish line with no problems all afternoon. We opted for the same strategy on both cars, running the first two stints on the soft tyres and switching to the mediums at the end and it worked out how we had planned it would. Jarno lost some time at the start but he pulled some of that back with a strong middle stint but was then hit by the number of blue flags that he had to slow down for. At the end of the race Heikki was once again chasing down the Renault but just was not able to get past him with the laps he had left. Now we move on to the last race of the season in Brazil where we will be focusing on the season's number on goal - securing tenth place and giving ourselves the platform we need to keep building for the future."

Riad Asmat, group CEO "We leave Abu Dhabi feeling pretty good about the way the weekend went for the whole team, particularly seeing Heikki having another storming race and mixing it in the midfield for a good part of the afternoon. We keep edging closer to tenth place, and while that is not a step forward for us in championship terms, compared to last year, it is vital for our long-term growth, and when we can carry over the step-up we have made this year in the pitstops, in the factory and in our race pace, we are putting ourselves in the right place for next season and beyond. One more race to go and we will make sure we keep up this level or performance in Brazil before the race team takes a well-earned break."

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton - 1st "This result is just fantastic. I'm usually my own biggest critic - I'm always hard on myself when I make mistakes - but I really felt like I maximised everything today. To be able to sustain that kind of pace, under constant pressure, and not make mistakes, is really satisfying. For most of the race I was concentrating on managing the gap to Fernando [Alonso]. He's such a strong driver. He'll never give you an inch, in fact. Into the closing laps I found myself beginning to think about victory, but I didn't want to do that really so I kept saying to myself: 'Don't even go there!' It worked: I stopped my mind from wandering and I didn't allow myself to think about the win until I'd crossed the line. To have Jenson on the podium alongside me was great - great for me, great for him, great for the team, and a great boost as we move towards the end of the season. The team has been fantastic all weekend - the strategy, the pitstops, everything - really top-class. The whole package came together today and I owe everyone a big thank-you. This is so uplifting - for the team and for me. To be able to walk away with a smile feels just fantastic: victory is good for the soul."

Jenson Button - 3rd "It was a difficult race for me, as I had a KERS Hybrid issue, which is admittedly very rare for us. After about 15 laps it stopped working - and that doesn't just affect your power out of the corners, it affects engine braking too. Fortunately, my engineer came over the radio and told me they'd found a way to make it work again - but it meant pushing lots of buttons on the steering wheel every couple of laps because it only returned intermittently. So I'd arrive at a corner and not know whether I had any engine braking because I had no warning. So selecting the right spot at which to brake was tough. Still, as I say, it's extremely rare for us to encounter a problem with our KERS Hybrid. Mercedes-Benz has done a great job this year, and in fact I'd say theirs is the best and most reliable unit in the pitlane: a fantastic system, in fact. So as I say it was a rare issue - and, although the problem made for a tricky drive for me, it also made it even more satisfying to manage to keep it together and end up on the podium. Last of all, I want to say: 'Fair play to Lewis.' He did a great job today. It's very positive to move towards the end of the season on a high, because it's the best possible way to build for the new season."

Martin Whitmarsh, team principal "Lewis drove an utterly faultless race today, taking the lead at the second corner and controlling the gap back to Fernando with consummate skill over the remaining 54 laps. To put it simply, he was brilliant today. Jenson, too, drove a truly excellent race, managing KERS Hybrid problems throughout, and emerging with a hard-won third place and 15 valuable world championship points to consolidate his second position in the drivers' world championship. While I'm on the subject of KERS Hybrid, it's worth paying tribute to the excellence of our Mercedes-Benz system. It's been fantastically reliable all season, and has delivered considerable performance benefits too; today's hiccup was therefore extremely rare. So I want to say a big "Bravo!" to all the guys at Brixworth [Northamptonshire, UK], where Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines is based, for a job very well done all year. Returning to the subject of today's race, it's always a great feeling to see two Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers on the podium together, and today I'm particularly delighted for Lewis, but also for Jenson, and of course for the entire team too. It was Lewis's 17th career grand prix victory, all of them scored for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, his third of the season, and the sixth time this year we've had occasion to pull on our famous Vodafone rocket-red victory T-shirts. But 2011 isn't done and dusted yet - from here we'll travel to Brazil, and the famous Interlagos circuit, over whose majestic twists and turns Lewis and Jenson will be trying their damnedest to score Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' seventh victory of the year. Bring it on!"

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg - 6th "It was an interesting race for me today. The start didn't work out very well as I tried to overtake Felipe but suddenly there was no space left. Michael was able to overtake me, and we had a fun battle before I took the place back. From then, I was able to handle my tyre situation very well. I stayed out a bit longer before the second stop as there was some grip left, and it was better to stay out with the softer tyres. With the prime tyres, I had some understeer which made it impossible to overtake Felipe towards the end. Thanks to my engineering team who did a brilliant job here and I was quite happy with my car all weekend. Our pit stop guys were also great again, and that's why we achieved a good result today. It makes me look forward to Brazil and hopefully we can achieve another good result there."

Michael Schumacher - 7th "A reasonable race today and some reasonable points I would say. Considering that we did not manage to find the perfect balance yesterday, we managed to get the maximum out of our situation today. But then, I did lose some small parts of the car which cost us some balance, and towards the end I had a slow puncture, which is why I had to park my car at turn two. The tyres gave up rather early in the first stint but that was due to our tyre strategy yesterday when we wanted to save a fresh set for the race. I therefore had quite used tyres for the start. We now have to look into the data and make sure we are well prepared for the last race of the season which we want to finish as well as possible."

Ross Brawn, team principal "A very lively first lap between our drivers today which was highly entertaining. We've often said that they are free to race as long as they keep it sensible, and it was good to see today. Nico had the stronger pace this evening, and his lap times during the race were quite encouraging. Our performance today reminds us of the little bit that we have to close down to become truly competitive, but it is within reach. Both Nico and Michael drove extremely well, and with good pit stops and a sound strategy, we achieved possibly the best results that we can at the moment."

Norbert Haug, motorpsort director "Sixth and seventh places for Nico and Michael are the best possible results with our current technical package, and our team has now finished in the top six rankings for the fifth time in the last seven races. These positions are certainly not our ultimate target but during the building-up time of our team, it is nevertheless positive to get the best possible results. A big thank you to the organisers of the spectacular race here in Abu Dhabi which creates a great atmosphere and fantastic television images. In this 'home' race for our team, we have achieved the results that we are currently capable of, and we want to come back next year with a quicker car and a better performance for our partner and co-owner Aabar. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and McLaren Mercedes for their victory today, which is the 71st Grand Prix win for McLaren Mercedes since 1997. Compliments also to everybody at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines for having six Mercedes-powered cars between P1 and P9 today."

Red Bull

Mark Webber - 4th "On the second pit stop, we fitted the option tyre again to try and cut the race down to something different; it was certainly worth a bit of a punt. The two DRS zones are tricky here; in the first one it was easy to get the move done, but in the second one you couldn't, so if I passed Jenson there, he could just get you back again. I think it was a bit of a gimmick today the DRS, it was difficult to make the move stick and harder to get the move done, as I say in Turn 11. I had a pretty good pace on Jenson anyway at the end of the first stint, he went one lap shorter than us which was no problem, but then we had a bad first pit stop, so we lost a lot of time with that. It put us on the back foot. I got the car back onto the leaders, but we were out of position by then."

Sebastian Vettel - DNF "On the exit of the first corner, everything seemed fine and then turning into the second corner I could feel that something was odd on the rear right. I had to catch the car surprisingly and then the second time, I couldn't do it anymore, as I'd lost too much air in the rear right tyre. I had a puncture and spun off. When I got back to the pits, the resulting suspension damage meant we couldn't carry on. There wasn't anything we could have done better really this weekend; we just need to look at what had caused the puncture. I had a good start and I was very happy with the car up until that point. To lose the race there, so early on, it hurts for sure. There wasn't much we could do, so after that I took the opportunity to learn a little bit on the pit wall."

Christian Horner, team principal "After such a great qualifying yesterday, it was a really frustrating race. Sebastian made a perfect start and had a clear lead into the first corner and then an instantaneous loss of pressure in the tyre made him a complete passenger. The resulting suspension damage from that meant there was no alternative but to retire the car today. For Mark, he was in a close scrap with Jenson. On the first pit stop we had a wheel nut issue and thereafter it dropped him behind Felipe Massa, so at that point we opted for a different strategic route and a three stop race, which was the only opportunity to take on and beat Massa and to have a go at Jenson. Unfortunately there just weren't enough laps to pull out a big enough gap, but it was worth a go and Mark drove well. Fourth was ultimately the best we could achieve today. So, at a track that's been so good to us for the last two years, it's frustrating to have our first DNF of the year due to a tyre issue. Congratulations to Lewis on a strong drive today."

Renault

Bruno Senna - 16th "Let's be honest here - there's not a crumb of comfort to take from that performance. We suffered from a KERS failure, drive through penalty and a car which was not on the money at this particular track. Put those together and you see why I finished where I did. There was lots of lost time to make up and, strategically, we took a gamble that didn't pay off. I certainly think that overall this weekend my pace was as good as it could have been. Maybe for Brazil we will have a better baseline, and let's hope we have a better race weekend."

Vitaly Petrov - 13th "It was quite a frustrating afternoon because my DRS was not working. We thought we could have a good fight with the cars in front, but we were pretty helpless, so we decided to change the strategy. When I first stopped, we put fresh medium tyres on but unfortunately these did not last long enough so we returned to the pits on lap 38 to change to the soft. Unfortunately that ended up being too slow. The pace was not good enough to score points and that's the reality."

Eric Boullier, team principal "That was not what we were looking for today. We knew that this weekend would not be our finest of the season; the trend of slower tracks not clicking with the R31 has repeated itself over the past three days. We had differing strategies today, but neither one was fruitful. Also, our reliability problems did not help. The boys have put in a big effort this week to try and give us something to smile about at this fantastic venue. Unfortunately it was not to be and it will be all eyes to Brazil to try and finish the season on a high."

Alan Permane, trackside operations director "A disappointing day for us with neither car scoring any points. We had a few problems with Vitaly's car early on with the DRS failing, so we knew we wouldn't be able to overtake anyone. This led us to try a one stop race but the hard tyre didn't last long enough so we had to stop for the soft. Bruno had a problem with his KERS which really cost him, and put him back around half a second each lap. There's no real positives to take from today."

Sauber

Kamui Kobayashi - 10th "I am happy to having scored a point today, I have had a pretty long period without scoring and for me it was important to put an end to this. I had a really good start and was able to make up five positions on lap one. Actually the performance of the tyres during and after the start was better than expected. I started on the medium compound as I was only 16th on the grid, and this is obviously a situation in which you have to take chances. But we knew it would be a difficult first stint, and it was not really clear how long those tyres would last. They dropped off after a few laps and then I lost three positions before I pitted after lap five for soft tyres. I think overall it was a good race by us."

Sergio Pérez - 11th "I had higher hopes for the race today. It is a shame what happened on lap one. There was a queue into turn seven and I couldn't avoid hitting Adrian Sutil's car. It wasn't immediately clear how big the damage was, but then the team told me my front wing was broken and I had to pit after lap two. We then decided to go for the medium compound when we did the nose change. On my third stint, again on soft tyres, I was driving in tenth for a while, but then I struggled with the tyres and also for the last 12 laps my KERS wasn't working."

Peter Sauber, team principal "Both drivers showed a lot of fighting spirit and set very good lap times for most of the race. It was good to score a point today, but we didn't achieve the maximum we could. Sergio's race was hampered by his early pit stop to replace the front wing, and for Kamui the team didn't handle his second stop perfectly. However, our race pace was encouraging today."

Giampaolo Dall'Ara, head of track engineering "The early part of the race wasn't easy for us because Sergio made contact with a Force India and had to pit after two laps because the pylon at the front wing was broken. As a result of the early stop we had to change the strategy. Our plan was to do two stints on soft tyres and the final one on medium, but under the circumstances we fitted the medium at the first pit stop. This worked okay. Sergio was able to get back in the points, but he then suffered a KERS problem and let Kamui by. With Kamui we were a bit too optimistic at the beginning of the race. He was on the medium compound. Once we realised that he was struggling to find grip we decided on an earlier stop than we had planned. This was good tyre-wise, but put him in a lot of traffic. However, he drove a good race, overtaking aggressively, and he finally scored a well deserved point, which is good for the morale of the whole team."

Toro Rosso

Jaime Alguersuari - 15th "I am very disappointed with the outcome of this weekend, because we had opted for a strategy in terms of aerodynamics that appeared to be the best in terms of ease of overtaking in the race. However, after the first four or five laps, I seemed to pick up some tyre degradation and I was losing the rear end. Then came the key moment in my race, when there was a mistake in the pit stop, which cost me a lot of time and dropped me down the order, from which I could not recover. Today, P10 was possible, because I had a good pace on the new Options, even if I am not sure that we could have caught the Force Indias. I am sure Brazil will suit us better, so I am looking forward to that and the chance for all of us to do a better job."

Sebastien Buemi - DNF "I had to retire because of a loss of fluid from the hydraulic system, which I first felt through the lack of power steering, as this is what makes the most demand on the hydraulics. After that, I could not change gear so there was nothing to do but bring the car into the pits and retire. It is such a shame, because I was having a good race up to that point. Just before it happened, I had passed Di Resta in the Force India and was hoping to start fighting Schumacher and Sutil, which means that a finish somewhere between seventh and ninth should have been possible tonight. Now we have just one more opportunity to try and score some more points, so I can't wait to get to Brazil to try and end the season with a good result."

Franz Tost, team principal "This was a night of missed opportunities. As we had expected, we were not as competitive in qualifying here as we had been in India, but felt we would show better in the race. In the early stages, this proved to be the case, with Sebastien running as high as seventh at one point. However, he had to bring the car into the pits and retire with an hydraulic failure caused by a leak from the system. Jaime was running a couple of places behind his team-mate, but there was a mistake at his first pit stop, which cost him a lot of time and therefore he dropped down the order. From then on, he drove well, putting in some competitive lap times, but the points positions were no longer within his sights. With Sauber scoring one point today, our battle with them for seventh in the championship must now go down to the wire in Brazil at a track that should suit our car characteristics better than this one."

Virgin

Timo Glock - 19th "Overall it was quite a good race today. I had a strong start, the speed was not too bad and I was in front of a couple of quicker guys, even though in the end they caught us up. I just drove my race and my engineer kept me updated about the gap to the guys behind, which was quite easy to manage. In the second pit-stop I think Ricciardo pushed a bit more, but I still managed to stay in front of him as well as keeping an eye on the rear tyres. In the end I got the best out of the car even though I have to say it was a bit difficult with the last set of tyres because the Medium compound combined with all the blue flags made it difficult to get them up to temperature. But it was a good race and the team did a good job."

Jérôme D'Ambrosio - DNF "What a shame! I had a good start and was fighting hard against the HRTs, but I had a problem with the brakes and that was my race over. But we will work hard and continue to be motivated to finish the season in Brazil on a high."

John Booth, team principal "A good start to the race saw Timo running as high as 16th in the opening laps. Unfortunately, Jérôme was left behind both of the HRTs, however he was pushing them hard during the early laps. Then on lap 17, Jérôme reported some difficulty with the brakes and also that there was some debris coming out of the left front wheel. We immediately pitted him, instigating a pit stop with inspection of the front braking system. It was clear though that it was not possible to continue and we retired him. Meanwhile on track, Timo was having a good opening stint, pulling a comfortable gap out over Liuzzi and Ricciardo, who had stopped very early. A small issue at his first stop lost him a bit of time, however he still came out in front of Ricciardo. For the second stint Timo managed his tyres to ensure that he could get as far as possible. It was a little like India in that by staying on the Soft tyre, he would be quicker than the HRTs, which again had stopped early for the Medium tyre. However, we came up against Trulli - again on the Medium tyre - so we had to stop earlier than we would have liked. At this point with the HRTs clearly behind, we opted to save gearbox and engine, turning everything down for the last five laps. Given our record of reliability it is disappointing that we haven't achieved a two-car finish in the last two races, however this will be our strong focus for Brazil."

Williams

Rubens Barrichello - 12th "It was a very good race, and a well considered one by the team. We started from the back but I fought all the way through and we almost ended up fighting for points. We did well to finish where we did today."

Pastor Maldonado - 14th "Our pace was a bit slow at the beginning of the race but improved when we switched onto the soft tyre. Unfortunately, my drive through penalty cost us a lot of time and potentially a better result. Our overall pace was better than it has been recently and I was happy with the car today."

Mark Gillan, chief operations engineer "Rubens started from the back and raced on a two stop, soft-biased strategy starting on the medium tyre. Pastor completed a one stop strategy, also starting on the medium tyre. Both drivers made strong progress through the field and by lap 13 Rubens and Pastor were P14 and P15, respectively. Rubens lost a bit of time on his first stop with a slow rear tyre change but continued to push hard to the end of the race finishing a credible 12th - almost catching Perez at the end for 11th. Pastor was given a drive through penalty for a blue flag infringement and a subsequent 30 second end-of-race penalty for another infringement finishing 14th."

ESPNF1

Vettel perplexed by puncture

Sebastian Vettel said that he was left perplexed by the puncture that caused his retirement on the first lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Vettel lead in to turn one but as he took turn two he spun off the track with an instant deflation of his right rear tyre. Having limped back to the pit lane, Vettel was forced to retire with the flailing rubber having caused too much damage to the rear suspension. Vettel told the BBC that he had no prior warning until he approached turn two.

"To be honest, at the exit of the first corner everything seemed fine," Vettel said. "As soon as I started turning in for the second corner I could feel something was odd on the rear right, and then I had to catch the car surprisingly. The second time I had to catch it I couldn't do it anymore; I'd lost too much air already on the rear right and had a puncture and spun off. On the way back I damaged the suspension so badly that we couldn't carry on."

Vettel said he had no explanation to why the puncture had occurred, but that he it was something the team needed to look in to.

"It looks like on the exit we lost tyre pressure and then the tyre was flat by the time I went in to turn two. I don't really know why, there's nothing that I did different to any other laps, or different to any other drivers. So we need to really understand what exactly caused the puncture and whether it was an issue with the tyre, whether I ran off the track too much, cut the kerb at a funny angle, I don't know."

Vettel also said that he didn't know if he would have won the race after retaining the lead at the start, but that it wasn't worth dwelling on the lost result.

"Up until that point I think we had a very good start, I was very happy with the car and it's hard to say how quick we could have been. I think Mark [Webber] had a difficult race; his pace looked good so I think the car was in good shape. On the other hand I think Lewis [Hamilton] and Fernando [Alonso] I think drove a solid race at the front and had good pace. I think we would have had a chance, but it's difficult to stand here and tell you what could have been. It's difficult to know what could have been, in the end it didn't happen because we didn't make it much more than one lap."

ESPNF1

'It was one of my best races' - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton labelled his victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as one of his best races and said he could fly back home happy after the race.

Over recent weeks Hamilton has revealed that he has been struggling with problems in his private life and has not looked in contention for a race win since his last victory at the German Grand Prix in July. However, he said his win in Abu Dhabi, in which he held off Fernando Alonso's Ferrari for 55 laps, was a huge boost.

"I feel fantastic, I really feel that it was one of my best races and I said that to myself as I slowed down [after the race]," he said. "Just being able to hold off one of the best drivers in the world throughout the race is something that is very, very tough to do - just looking after the tyres and managing the gaps. Obviously the team did a fantastic job in the pit stops … but I'm ecstatic and really very happy to be back up here. This is great, I can get on my flight tonight and smile."

Hamilton dedicated the victory to his mother, who made the journey out to Abu Dhabi to celebrate her birthday.

"It's my mum's birthday this weekend and it's great to be able to win while she's here," he added.

ESPNF1

Delayed stop didn't cost Alonso

Fernando Alonso said that his delayed final pit stop did not cost him victory as he finished second in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Alonso was closing in on Lewis Hamilton ahead of the final round of pit stops, and stayed out for two extra laps on the soft tyre in order to try and get ahead of the McLaren. Having opened up a 20 second lead, Alonso pitted but encountered a slow-moving HRT on entry to the pit lane, while also having a slower stop before rejoining in second. With Hamilton going on to extend his lead by the end of the race, Alonso said he would not have been able to stay ahead if he had gained a position in the pits.

"It was a fantastic race for me with a very good start a then a good first lap fight for Jenson and obviously with the problem with Sebastian we found ourselves in second," Alonso said. "Then we fought all the way through the race, more or less with a distance of three to five seconds with Lewis.

"And then in the last pit stop we stayed out two laps longer than the McLaren and we were close I think, but we had some traffic in the pit entry behind one HRT and I think we lost a little bit of ground. But anyway, I think in the last stint they had a bit more pace so even if we were able to overtake in the stops it was difficult to win the race. So extremely happy with second and we enjoyed this weekend."

Alonso admitted that even being competitive enough to hold on to second place was a surprise for him.

"At that point [first lap] we thought it would be a long race defending the second position, but it was not like that. The car was performing so well, the pace was so good that we were looking more to Hamilton and to the victory than to the mirror. So that was a surprise, and it was one of those Sundays when the car is better than expected."

ESPNF1

Button rues KERS problems

Jenson Button said he was was happy to secure third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a KERS problem robbed him of performance early in the race.

Button lost his KERS power boost on lap 12, dropping him off the pace of leaders Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso and into the clutches of Mark Webber and Felipe Massa behind. Button still managed to take a solid third place by the chequered flag, but admitted it had been a tough race.

"I think it was from lap 12 that I didn't have KERS basically," he said. "I had to fend off Webber and also Massa, which was quite interesting without KERS. In the next stint the team told me what I could do to get KERS back, and I eventually got KERS back, but it lasted for two laps at a time and I had to keep resetting it."

KERS works by harvesting energy from the car's driveshaft when the driver is off the accelerator and Button said his McLaren became unpredictable under braking without it.

"The problem is that it's not just when you accelerate, it's when you brake," he added. "When you have KERS you have a lot of engine braking from the KERS and when you don't have it, you don't have any braking performance. So every time I arrived at a corner I didn't know what I was going to get, engine braking or not, and it was pretty tricky. So coming home and finishing third I'm relatively happy."

ESPNF1

Hamilton dominates the Abu Dhabi GP as Sebastian Vettel retires

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton ended a victory drought stretching back to July by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - after world champion Sebastian Vettel retired on the very first lap due to damage from a puncture.

Fernando Alonso was a close second for Ferrari, with Jenson Button completing the podium despite KERS issues on his McLaren.

Vettel had surged into a clear lead from pole at the first corner, but just one bend later his Red Bull was slewing into a wild spin as its right rear tyre deflated. The champion tried to nurse his car back to the pits, but the flailing rubber had already done too much damage, so Vettel posted his first retirement since last year's Korean GP.

That put Hamilton into the lead, with Alonso in second having passed Mark Webber (Red Bull) at the start and then gone around the outside of Button at the end of the back straight to secure second.

There was little to choose between the McLaren and Ferrari for most of the rest of the race - with the gap sometimes barely more than a second. Ferrari tried to gain an advantage by running longer before Alonso's second stop, but to no avail, and in the final stint Hamilton's lead grew to more comfortable levels as he headed towards his third win of an often-troubled 2011 season.

After losing time with a stubborn wheel at his first stop, Webber tried to regain ground with a three-stop strategy that saw him only change to the harder Pirellis on the very last lap. That did not allow him to beat Button - with whom he had battled fiercely for much of the race - but he did take fourth, helped by Felipe Massa's challenge fading when the Ferrari had a quick spin with six laps to go. The Brazilian quickly rejoined to take fifth.

Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher had a spectacular early battle, won by the younger German, who went on to take sixth. Schumacher narrowly beat Force India's Adrian Sutil to seventh. Sutil's team-mate Paul di Resta and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi completed the points scorers, the former pulling off a one-stop strategy.

Just outside the top 10, Rubens Barrichello ended Williams's awful weekend on a slightly brighter note by charging from the back of the grid to 12th, right on 11th-placed Sauber driver Sergio Perez's tail.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina, United Arab Emirates;
55 laps; 305.355km;
Weather: Clear.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           1h37:11.886
 2.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +     8.457
 3.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +    25.881
 4.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    35.784
 5.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    50.578
 6.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    52.317
 7.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +  1:15.900
 8.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +  1:17.100
 9.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +  1:40.000
10.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
11.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
12.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
13.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap
14.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
15.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
16.  Senna         Renault                    +     1 lap
17.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault              +     1 lap
18.  Trulli        Lotus-Renault              +    2 laps
19.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps
20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Webber, 1:42.612

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth                 49
Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari           19
D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth              18
Vettel        Red Bull-Renault             1


World Championship standings, round 18:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel       374        1.  Red Bull-Renault          607
 2.  Button       255        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          482
 3.  Alonso       245        3.  Ferrari                   353
 4.  Webber       233        4.  Mercedes                  159
 5.  Hamilton     227        5.  Renault                    72
 6.  Massa        108        6.  Force India-Mercedes       57
 7.  Rosberg       83        7.  Sauber-Ferrari             42
 8.  Schumacher    76        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         41
 9.  Petrov        36        9.  Williams-Cosworth           5
10.  Sutil         34       
11.  Heidfeld      34       
12.  Kobayashi     28       
13.  Alguersuari   26       
14.  Di Resta      23       
15.  Buemi         15       
16.  Perez         14       
17.  Barrichello    4       
18.  Senna          2       
19.  Maldonado      1       
       
All timing unofficial

Autosport

Who said what after qualifying in Abu Dhabi

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso - 5th "We are more or less where we expected to be going into the session. It's not because this is the eighth time out of eighteen qualifying sessions that I have ended up fifth. It's that, all year long, with a few rare exceptions, McLaren and Red Bull are stronger than us on Saturday, while on Sunday the situation is usually
different, with the gaps between us being much closer. We know we can fight for the podium, but to succeed, we will have to do everything perfectly, beginning with the start and our strategy. In Q3, I thought of doing just one run, but then the first one was not perfect and we preferred to try everything right to the end. I don't think it would have made such a difference having a new set of tyres tomorrow, also because the degradation does not seem that high. Maybe the best time could have come on the second or third flying lap, but going down that route would have compromised our strategy, as we would have to start on tyres that were more worn than those of our rivals. I will start from the clean side of the track and hope to make up some places: the first lap is a good window of opportunity. The front wing? Mine worked well all weekend, but the team decided to move back with Felipe. In one sense it's positive, because we will have an even greater amount of data to compare in order to get a good understanding of this new component. Tomorrow it will be interesting to see how the tyres will behave from the start to the finish of the race, as the temperature drops."

Felipe Massa - 6th "To be honest, I hoped for more from this qualifying. I struggled more than expected to get the best out of the tyres on the first flying lap: maybe it would have been worth trying a longer run, with two attempts. As expected, today McLaren and Red Bull showed they have the edge over us. In the end, we are in the grid positions we can expect in this final part of the season. Sure, having to use the old type of front wing cost me something in terms of performance: in India, when we compared the two versions, I immediately felt the new one was an improvement, giving more grip and better stability under braking. Having said that, I don't think I could have got a place on the two front rows. Tomorrow we will have to see what we can do. Certainly the DRS will help with overtaking, but we have seen on other occasions, even with the moveable rear wing, that it is not a foregone conclusion."

Stefano Domenicali, team principal "We weren't expecting any surprises and we did not get any. We know what is our potential in qualifying and, in order to get onto the front two rows, something special must happen: in India that was the case, but not here, so our positions are relatively easy to understand. Just to make it clear, it's not a case of being pleased with this result in absolute terms, but neither should we be trying to fool our fans by claiming to be able to fight for the win. Tomorrow, we have every chance of fighting for a place on the podium: it won't be easy, but neither will it be impossible. In a track where, as we are only too aware, overtaking has never been easy, it will be interesting to see how effective will be the two zones where we can activate the moveable rear wing. Strategy, the work done by the drivers and the team, tyre behaviour and reliability: the usual parameters will once again hold the key."

Pat Fry, technical director "We can be neither surprised nor disappointed with this result, because we are where logic says we should be. Looking carefully at the times, sector by sector, one can see that Fernando was at the level of the fastest in the first two, but paid a penalty in the third, where there are more low speed corners and where traction is more important. In fact, that's not surprising either, as we know this is our Achilles Heel. Tomorrow, we can expect a pretty standard race in terms of how it evolves strategically. For the first pit stop, it will be important to find the right moment to stop out of traffic. The tyres are working well, even if we had a few problems in getting them immediately up to temperature, especially with the Mediums. As for the choices relating to the front wing, with Felipe we decided to use the old type, because despite the efforts we have made these past weeks, we have still not resolved some problems relating to the behaviour of this new part, which furthermore, seem to be contagious… We will continue to work on it, including during the three days of testing at this track next week."

Force India

Adrian Sutil - 9th "I'm happy with ninth place today and it was a good session for me. In Q3 we waited a bit longer than planned because we wanted to wait and see what Mercedes did. In the end they decided to go out so I also went out and I did a timed lap. The lap was a little bit compromised because I didn't get the tyres fully up to temperature, so maybe I could have been a bit higher up. Still, I don't think we can complain too much because P9 is a fair reflection of our pace at the moment."

Paul di Resta - 10th "Getting two cars in the top ten was the objective today and that's what we achieved. We made some good progress this morning perfecting the set-up and I was happy with the car in qualifying. Q1 and Q2 went well and we got the job done by getting in the top ten. Our approach to Q3 was to give us the optimum strategy for tomorrow. For the race we are definitely hoping for points because our focus is to maintain our sixth place in the championship. I'm really looking forward to this race because the place looks spectacular at night. It's also nice to drive in twilight conditions when it's a bit cooler."

Dr. Vijay Mallya, team principal "I'm very pleased with our performance today and with both Sahara Force India cars starting from the fifth row of the grid we are in good shape for tomorrow. It will be an interesting race because we have seen that the tyre degradation here is not that severe, which means we need to think long and hard about how we will use the strategy. With just two races to go we are not underestimating how important it is to score points here to strengthen our grasp on sixth place in the constructors' championship. I believe we have the speed to do so, but as I've said before you never know until it's in the bag."

HRT

"The result in qualifying was a shame because we'd had a good weekend up until qualifying. After my second run we suffered a broken suspension bracket and the car had massive understeering on left hand turns but I tried to continue doing some laps so that we could try and understand what the problem was exactly. The car wasn't fast at all and very unbalanced and that is why we were so far behind. It's a pity because this is a track where we could have achieved our best performance in qualifying this season. But we can still be competitive in tomorrow's race if we fix it; tomorrow is another day."

Daniel Ricciardo - 20th "I'm happy with today's performance as we were a little bit unsure coming in to qualifying. I always tried to stay positive and believed that I could put in the best performance possible but there were a few doubts with the set-up and free practice hadn't gone well since yesterday. But we got out there and the car was good, I felt I drove well and managed to clock my best time on my last lap. I had a really good first sector and in the second sector I lost a bit of time because Glock had to let me through so I could've maybe even finished above him without that incident. But I pushed as much as I could like I always do and I'm very happy to get a good result out of it."

Colin Kolles, team principal "This morning we had a trouble-free session which allowed us to complete the programme and prepare for qualifying. The afternoon qualifying session started quite well too, but Tonio had an issue on the front suspension which has to be investigated and that prevented him to pull out a perfect lap in the end. Daniel was ahead of both Virgins but lost a couple of tenths on the second sector that left him right behind Glock. Nevertheless, the pace that both drivers showed over the different sessions is good and there is almost no difference to our direct rivals. Tomorrow, if we all do our best and stay focused from the beginning to the end, I am confident that we can get a good result for the team that would allow us to finish the season on high spirits."

Lotus

Heikki Kovalainen - 17th "I am really pleased with that performance today. We definitely got as much performance as we could out of the car and to break into the 1.42s is very satisfying. I pretty much nailed the quick lap and I think we know that where we are on race pace gives us another chance of a strong finish tomorrow. I'm also looking forward to Brazil where we have an update to the rear wing coming - that should give us a better chance of using the DRS more effectively around the whole lap in qualifying, helping us get much closer to our race pace on Saturday afternoons, so another quick lap like that in Brazil with the update would be a great way to finish the qualifying sessions this season."

Jarno Trulli - 18th "It's obviously been a tricky Saturday for me, having had to sit out FP3 when we found an issue with the gearbox that couldn't be fixed in time for me to run in that session. Despite that, the team worked well to fix the problem and gave me the chance to get out in qualifying without incurring any penalties, so putting together a lap that comfortably keeps me ahead of the guys behind is, in the circumstances, pretty good."

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer "A reasonably satisfying qualifying session for us. Obviously Jarno had some ground to make up after losing this morning's session with a gearbox issue that we were able to fix in time for qualifying. Heikki put in another very good Q1 and extracted as much performance as he could out of the car, so they both did well today. We put both cars on two runs in the session, first on the medium compounds and then on the softs, and we finised the session closer to the pack ahead than we have all season, so that points towards another strong Sunday for us. The key now is to maintain the pace we have shown since Singapore and make sure we bring both cars to the chequered flag without any problems."

Riad Asmat, group CEO "I think we can be reasonably pleased with today's performance. Heikki put in another incredible lap, getting it just right in all three sectors to finish as close as he did to Michael ahead, and Jarno had to perform in a car that he had barely had track time in today and managed to put in a good lap, pretty close to his team mate. Two more races to go, one tomorrow and then the final race in Brazil in two weeks, and two more races for us to secure that all important tenth place. If the drivers and the team can keep up the level of performance we have seen today and for a good part of the whole season, I think we will be ok."

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton - 2nd "It would be nice to have had pole position, but that Red Bull, as always, is very quick in Q3! Still, we've got our car to a point where it works particularly well on certain tracks, and we always seem to go well here. To be as competitive as we've been this weekend is very encouraging - we're on the front row so we can have a good race from there. And, for the first time in quite a while, my long-run pace was pretty good too, and I think we had more fuel on board than some of the other teams. I feel really good about tomorrow, in fact.

"I hope I have a good start - I really want to get into Turn One first. But, if I can't, I'll follow Sebastian [Vettel] as closely as I can, I'll try my hardest not to let him get more than a second ahead, and I'll try to get ahead through the DRS zones. Last year I started second but braked early into Turn One and let Sebastian have the corner. I've just told him that's not going to happen tomorrow, though…"

Jenson Button - 3rd "I haven't really been able to find a balance that suits me perfectly this weekend. The car changed quite a lot for qualifying. In practice I'd been struggling with the rear end; but, during qualifying, I suddenly had great rear grip and masses of understeer - so the car felt completely different to me. Obviously, there's only a certain number of things you can do during the qualifying session to counteract that, so we used everything we could to make the car work reasonably well, and I felt much happier as a result. Third isn't a bad place from which to start - hopefully we'll get one over on the Red Bulls tomorrow."

Martin Whitmarsh, team principal "It may sound a little churlish to say that we're a bit disappointed with second and third today, but the honest truth is that we are. Granted, second and third is a pretty creditable result - it's a platform from which we can win tomorrow in fact - but I don't mind admitting that we were eyeing pole position today. Lewis and Jenson both did a good job though - and, looking forward, they're both great racers and we think we'll have a strong race package for tomorrow. Our long-run pace has been impressive all weekend, and we think we'll be in good shape on both the Prime and the Option [tyre].

"People tend to opine that it's difficult to overtake here in Abu Dhabi - and so it is. But there are two DRS zones, and of course there's also the all-important drag down to the first corner. Beyond that, you've got to get the strategy right, and let's just say that we intend to pile the pressure on tomorrow afternoon!"

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg - 7th "We didn't quite get the maximum from our qualifying session today which was a shame. The track temperatures dropped during the session and it became more difficult to get the tyres working. On my second run in Q3, I had too much traffic in front of me to warm the tyres up sufficiently and that hurt me on the quick lap, otherwise I think we could have been further ahead. However I'm on the good side of the grid and it should be a fun race tomorrow."

Michael Schumacher - 8th "It was quite a tight qualifying today. I aborted my last lap in Q1 to save tyres, and having some fresh tyres left is the good news from Q3 as well. Overall it was a normal qualifying where we would probably not have much more in the pocket. I also expect a straightforward race and we will try to make the most out of opportunities that arise. The tyres should not be a big issue here, and we tested their behaviour in P2 yesterday which took place at the same time as the race. The fact that the track temperatures will drop during the race might be good for us as we struggle a bit with the tyre temperatures here."

Ross Brawn, team principal "It was a reasonably straightforward qualifying session for us today with both drivers and the team doing a very good job. There was a little difference in straightline speed on Michael's car which hampered his pace in relation to Nico so we need to have a look at that and understand why. Otherwise we are in good shape for the race and looking forward to tomorrow."

Norbert Haug, head of motorsport "The best possible job from our team, Nico and Michael today. We have again been mindful of our strategy in order to save tyres for the race tomorrow, and we hope this approach will be to our benefit as has been the case in recent races. We would like to take the opportunity of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to express the whole team's appreciation for our partner and co-owner Aabar which is, for our home race, also visible in increased branding on our cars. Today six Mercedes-powered cars made it into the top ten on the grid, the second time in the last five races."

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel - 1st "I'm pretty pleased. Yesterday I wasn't very happy with my own performance and with the car and I didn't feel that comfortable. Today was much better straightaway when we went out this afternoon, but this evening when the sun went down, I had a much better feeling and the car was more together. It came in my direction and helped us. McLaren looked strong throughout the weekend, but I thought if I get everything right then in Q3 then we might have a chance (for the pole) and that's the way it came for us. I'm very pleased with the pole and it's a very special one to equal Nigel Mansell as well. It's a fantastic year and it's not over yet, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Mark Webber - 4th I'm disappointed with my last run, it was a bit scrappy. We had to communicate more than normal during the out lap due to a few things we were managing, so that affected the prep a little. I'm disappointed as there is certainly more there. Sometimes you see Seb's lap and you go, 'wow you can't do that', he did a good lap for sure today, but I didn't feel like I got the most out of it when it counted. It will be an interesting first sector, then we'll get into the race from there. I think this track is traditionally pretty hard to pass on, so it's likely to be down to the DRS zone and pit stops."

Christian Horner, team principal "An unbelievable final lap from Sebastian, to get the pole in what was a really exciting final qualifying tonight. It's a remarkable achievement for him to equal Nigel Mansell's 14 poles in a single season, which by coincidence also happened to be achieved in an Adrian Newey designed car back in 1992, with a Renault engine. It was a tremendous achievement for Sebastian. In such a tight qualifying session, it all came down to the final run and Mark in P4 was only two tenths off the front row; it demonstrates just how tight it is this weekend. I'm sure we're set for a really exciting race tomorrow."

Renault

Bruno Senna - 14th "I'm disappointed because I made a mistake on my last lap and lost a lot of time. It was a gamble to go for one flying lap, and unfortunately I could not get into the position I wanted to be; I really feel I could have made P11. At least the sets of tyres have only done one lap each, which should be a good thing for the race tomorrow. Let's hope my below par qualifying position doesn't harm me too much tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the race, it's an exciting place to race and I will be giving it my best shot."

Vitaly Petrov - 12th "We had a difficult start to the weekend, with a few mechanical problems yesterday (steering rack then an electrical component). From there on we were up against it, especially at a track where we are not expected to be high flyers. To be frank, today we took the absolute maximum from our car. We couldn't have expected any miracles, and I am generally happy with P12 on the grid because I know that both I and the team did all that we could do; setting a competitive lap time at this circuit is tough. Tomorrow will be a demanding day for us; people have said that the tyre degradation will be lower than at many tracks but I'm not so sure - I think it will play a significant role. The race will be long, and we will have to select the right tactics to ensure we come away from this weekend with something positive."

Sauber

Sergio Perez - 11th "I'm very happy with 11th in qualifying. Everybody in the team did a good job. I did my fastest lap time in Q2 with a set of soft tyres I had used before in Q1. Of course I was hoping to improve in Q2 when I got the fresh tyres, but it was impossible for me to get them to work. We are in a challenging situation regarding the battle for positions in the constructors' championship, but I hope for a good race with an aggressive strategy tomorrow. Everything can happen. It will be my first twilight race, but I have seen yesterday and today that the tinted tear off visors work quite well. "

Kamui Kobayashi - 16th "I did what was eventually my fastest lap time in Q2 on the set of soft tyres I had used before in Q1. This lap wasn't perfect, but I put my hopes on the set of new tyres. Then we struggled a lot to get the fresh ones up to temperature and that's why I couldn't improve. The difference in grip between the used set and the new one was really big. Nevertheless I have a good feeling for the race here."

Peter Sauber, team principal "After some difficult qualifying sessions in recent races, we were able to make a step forward today, which is really positive. Sergio drove a very good lap and just missed making it into Q3. He was able to keep the Toro Rosso cars, our direct competitors, behind him and also the two Renault cars, which was positive. For Kamui it didn't work out that well. However, I'm confident about our performance for the race where it will be crucial to manage the tyres properly.

Giampaolo Dall'Ara, head of track engineering "Our goal for today was to improve our qualifying performance, and Sergio's 11th place shows that we achieved this goal. In the third free practice we mainly worked on the mechanical set-up of the car. Sergio was able to put in a very good lap, while Kamui was a bit unlucky. It is puzzling to us that both our drivers set their quickest lap times on used soft tyres. We have to analyse this. Now our goal for the race is to score points."

Toro Rosso

Sebastien Buemi - 13th "Overall, I am reasonably satisfied with my own performance, even if I am only thirteenth, one tenth of a second off eleventh place, which shows it was quite a difficult session. But I think that, in the cockpit I did a good job and unfortunately, the fact this track is much slower than those at the last three races has not suited us so well. Tomorrow's race will be tough and long and anything could happen and I will be looking to exploit any opportunity that comes my way and I should be able to fight with those cars directly in front of me on the grid."

Jaime Alguersuari - 15th "I am pleased that we managed to improve the car from the free practice session to qualifying and I believe we have made the right choices for the race in terms of downforce levels and other set-up tools. We are often more competitive in the race than in qualifying and I believe that will be the case tomorrow, more so than in recent races as this has not been the best track for us. But I do not think my grid position is that bad and I am convinced I can work my way up into a points position by the end of the night."

Giorgio Ascanelli, technical director "We are running at a track where car balance, which is our forte, is not so crucial, while braking and sheer grip is more important and we are not so good in these areas, although I should make it clear that is no reflection on Brembo who is doing a good job for us. We struggled a bit in finding the best set up, however given the situation we found ourselves in yesterday, I would say we have made a step forward today. Overall therefore, these positions are not too disappointing. This is a case where we can apply the cliché that we should be better in race trim than in qualifying: Sergio is a tenth ahead and Kobayashi is a tenth behind, so it should be an interesting and exciting battle tomorrow evening. Fortunately for Pirelli, but unfortunately for us, the tyre situation looks stable so I am not expecting any unusual developments on that front to come along and help us and make it more fun."

Virgin

Timo Glock - 19th "Today the car was a bit more difficult to drive than yesterday. We already struggled this morning with the braking - I just didn't have the confidence to go to the maximum and push. Depending on the corner, the rear end behaved differently, making it quite difficult for me to judge. But my qualifying lap was a good one and I am happy to be in front of HRT and pleased with the lap. It was good and no mistakes. But I'm sure that if we have more confidence in the car we can push more, so we have to look into this and understand why it changed overnight."

Jérôme D'Ambrosio - 21st "I had a reasonable qualifying today. I didn't get the perfect lap but equally it wasn't such a bad one. I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow as my set-up was oriented more towards the race rather than optimised for qualifying, so I like to think there is more to come. This is a special race track with the timing of the qualifying and race, as the reference points are gradually changing as the light is falling. I hope we can have a good two-car finish for the team."

John Booth, team principal "A good result for the team in qualifying today. Jérôme progressed well over the course of this morning and it was pleasing to see him opting for the bold strategy of a single hot lap right at the end of the session. Timo was less happy with the car on his first run in qualifying and this forced him to be slightly more conservative with a final three-lap run. Looking at his time, and correcting it to a more optimal single timed lap, I think we can be pleased with where we are relative to our competitors. We spent a lot of time before coming here analysing our performance in recent races in order to make the most of the last two rounds of the season. As a consequence, we took the decision yesterday to focus our set-up towards the race rather than qualifying, so we're optimistic that we can enjoy a strong two-car finish tomorrow. As always here in Abu Dhabi, the track and its spectacular backdrop will add an extra special dimension for ourselves and the fans."

Williams

Pastor Maldonado - 23rd It's a long race here and we need to come up with a strong strategy to get a positive result from 23rd. We've obviously been thinking about our strategy all weekend because we've known about the grid penalty for a while now. We haven't decided 100% and we'll keep working on it tonight to make sure we give ourselves the best possible chance. I will do my best and I know the team will too. We must be confident.

Rubens Barrichello - No time - 24th The team tried everything to fix the problem that we had this morning. Unfortunately, they weren't able to and I couldn't go out in qualifying. I fully support the team and know we will come through this smiling.

ESPNF1